All cat species have very short snouts, with a reduced number of cheek teeth. In a domestic cat the eye sockets are relatively large, their vertical diameter being greater than the length of the snout, as in humans.

Since the 18th century taxonomists have tacitly distinguished the wild cat as F. sylvestris but recent studies suggest that it should be conspecific with F. catus (ref.). The skull of a wild cat is said to be larger and more robust, but as hybridisation may have been taking place since Roman times, there may not be a clear distinction between wild and domestic cats in Britain.